Recap: Buffalo vs. Pittsburgh

Buffalo, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - With the holiday season right around the corner, Sidney Crosby got into the giving spirit Saturday night.

Crosby had five assists in the Pittsburgh Penguins' 6-1 rout of the Buffalo Sabres, extending his league-best totals to 17 helpers and 24 points.

The captain of the Penguins now has a 19-game point streak against the Sabres, upping his ledger to 10 goals and 26 assists in those contests.

"I don't really have a great explanation for you," Crosby said. "When I come here, for some reason, the ice has always been good and feels good that way. Sometimes that helps, but that being said, I don't think there's any real explanation. We've been in some low-scoring games here and got a fluky one at the end here or there. There's no rhyme or reason, but we've got to keep it going."

Kris Letang added two goals and two assists for Pittsburgh, which has won seven in a row for the first time since Dec. 9-21 of last season. Patric Hornqvist had two goals and an assist.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 20 saves for the Penguins, who have won five consecutive games against the Sabres, outscoring them 23-3 in that stretch. That includes a 5-0 win Nov. 1 in Pittsburgh.

Zemgus Girgensons scored the lone goal for Buffalo, which has lost three in a row. Jhonas Enroth stopped 33-of-39 shots in defeat.

"The score was 6-1 so it was definitely us more playing poorly. Any team, if you've got an effort and you can compete, it can be a close game," Girgensons said. "But if you don't try against a team like that then you see the score, the result."

The Penguins dominated from the start with Letang opening the scoring 1:21 into the game by scoring off Crosby's pass from behind the net.

Hornqvist lit the lamp on the power play at 3:31 when he deflected Letang's blast past Enroth.

Letang's one-timer found the back of the net at the 15:04 mark of the first period.

Hornqvist scored another goal on the power play at 4:56 of the second and Robert Bortuzzo then made it 5-0 with six minutes remaining on his first of the young season.

Girgensons tipped in Josh Gorges' shot from the point to put the Sabres on the board with 3:08 to go, but Evgeni Malkin kicked the puck from his skate to his stick and scored from the slot with 45 seconds left.

Enroth made 13 saves in the third to keep it a 6-1 game.

Game Notes

Crosby last recorded five assists in a 6-1 win over the Islanders on March 10,
2013 ... Pittsburgh went 2-for-5 on the power play, while Buffalo went 0-for-3
... Chris Kunitz had two assists for the Penguins ... The Sabres fell to an
NHL-worst 3-11-2.

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